The tall, dark and sexy Quinto rose to fame for his portrayal of Spock in Star Trek (2009) and as Sylar in Heroes and has been ambiguous about his sexuality until now. In an interview, Quinto talked about the dichotomy of same-sex marriage being legalized in New York in the same year that Jamey Rodemeyer, a gay teen, was bullied and committed suicide:

“... as a gay man I look at that and say there’s a hopelessness that surrounds it, but as a human being I look at it and say ‘Why? Where’s this disparity coming from, and why can’t we as a culture and society dig deeper to examine that?’ We’re terrified of facing ourselves.”

Quinto, who has played gay roles and been “outspoken about gay rights issues,” according to New York, also talked about his role in the 1993 Pulitzer-prize winning play “Angels in America,” as a man who abandons his boyfriend who has AIDS:

“Doing that play made me realize how lucky I was to be born when I was born and to not have to witness the decimation of an entire generation of amazingly talented and otherwise vital men.”